Naruto: Just as Usual
by Cookieclock
Summary: Based on the second ending of Naruto: Shippuden. What Naruto might be like if there were less ninjas and more high school drama. Action, drama, romance , comedy it's all here
1. The way things are

**A/N and Disclaimer: **Wee, Naruto. Based on the second ending of Naruto Shippuuden, which depicts several scenes of a typical "high school manga" featuring Naruto and friends as the characters. This intrigued me, and inspired me to write a "Naruto if it didn't have the ninjas fic". Oh and the title is one of the lines from the aforementioned second ending; "Michi to you all" good song by the way. So yeah, enjoy. Also I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, that all belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei.

**Naruto: Just as Usual**

**Chapter 1: The way things are**

A young man stood in front of a small house, barricaded off from the rest of the world by bright yellow tape, refusing access to anyone but the police. The man wore a blue police uniform, and had dark brown hair tied up in a spiky ponytail and an almost fin like scar across the bridge of his nose. He stood, surveying the scene for a short while, and eventually spoke to another police officer standing next to him. "What's the situation?"

The other officer was taken back by the man's question, and almost dropped his clipboard. Hurriedly, he composed himself and began reading from it. "Um… it seems that there was a murder, Umino-kyokuchou." (1)

The brown haired man smiled at his companion. "Call me Iruka." He said warmly, but his smile soon returned to a frown as he looked back at the murder scene. "So what exactly happened?"

The officer looked back down at his clipboard. "Well um Umi-, um Iruka- kyokuchou, it appears as if the murders were committed by the infamous 'Kyuubi Gang', as the victim was behind on a loan she owed them,"

"And who was the victim?" Iruka asked, still focused on the crime scene.

"One Uzumaki Kushina sir." The officer replied. "She has a fairly shady past, often changing both name and location. Her husband died approximately two years ago, and since then she has tried to survive as a single mother by loaning money and then leaving town before she could be tracked down. Evidently, her luck didn't last."

"She had a child?" Iruka asked, his gaze shifting to the officer, which rather unnerved him.

"Um, yes sir." The officer replied nervously. "A two year old boy by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. As a matter of fact he survived this attack; it looks as if his mother did everything she could to save him."

"I see..." Iruka's gaze wandered, until it fell on a middle aged man in a brown trenchcoat, nestling a small, blanketed boy with spiky blond hair and whisker like scars on his face. "Looks like he didn't come out completely unscathed…" Iruka said, looking at the boy's fresh scars. He touched the scar on his nose almost instinctively. "Did he have any other family?"

"No sir." The officer replied.

Iruka sighed deeply. "I know what it's like to grow up alone, scarred for life, with no-one to help you" He began to walk slowly towards young Uzumaki Naruto. "This time, I'll make sure there's someone there to help."

* * *

The sharp beeping of an alarm clock cut through the morning silence like a knife through butter. A delicate female hand slapped down violently on the device, returning the silence that was so tragically lost. But even with its return, Haruno Sakura was still wide awake. "Another day…" She yawned and rose from her bed, stretching out her tired muscles. After making her bed, Sakura ran a brush through her light pink hair, and tied it back with a bright red ribbon. She stared at herself in the mirror for a while. "I wonder if I should make lunch for Sasuke-kun as well today…" She pondered out loud. "He always says he doesn't want it, but I think he's just too shy and generous to accept something from someone else!" She giggled to herself. "I'll make him some too." Sakura quickly dressed herself in her sailor fuku (2), grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs, making toast on her way out. "I'm leaving!" She called out in a muffled voice, with toast still in her mouth. No reply. Figures, there never was. And with that, Sakura left her house and began her daily trek to school. 

A teenage boy stood in front of a large gate. He had spiky blond hair, and wore a black headband and black gakuran jacket (3), both adorned with a spiral-like symbol. Underneath his jacket, the boy wore a white shirt, tucked into a pair of tightly fastened trousers (Or pants, whatever you like to call them) and a green crystal necklace hung loosely around his neck. The sleeves of both his gakuran and shirt where rolled up, and he had a white bag slung over his shoulder. The boy grinned and looked at the gate with his deep, blue eyes. "So, this is Konoha High huh?"

* * *

Sakura slid open the door to her classroom, revealing a great number of students inside. Sakura shuffled over to her desk, hanging her bag on it and falling to her seat. "Hey, Sakura!" Sakura turned to see a girl with blond hair in a long ponytail walking over to her. 

"Morning, Ino" She greeted half-heartedly.

"What's with you?" Ino asked irritably. "You don't always have to be this grumpy you know; it's not like you're fulfilling a status quo or anything. Shikamaru does enough of that already,"

"I dunno" Sakura said. "I'm not exactly enthusiastic. Things are just a bit, well, boring lately. I get up in the morning, I get dressed, I make lunch that I know will get rejected which means I'll have to eat it and get even fatter, I make my toast, I say goodbye and get no reply, I walk to school, you say 'hey', we have another day of lessons and then I go home" Sakura sighed deeply. "Everything's the same, just as usual."

"You need to lighten up a little bit…" Ino huffed. "Honestly, most of the time I don't know why I hang around with you. All you ever do is complain!"

"What can I say? It's what I do best" Sakura joked.

"So, I assume you made Sasuke lunch again?" Ino said tauntingly.

Sakura blushed. "……Yes" Ino giggled slightly. "Hey, leave me alone!" Sakura pouted.

"I'm sorry!" Ino chuckled. "It's just a little sad that's all. You've been making him lunches since you first met him and he never accepts them, just give up on him like I did Sakura, you'll never make any progress. Sasuke just doesn't think about stuff like that y'know?"

"Yeah, maybe I am sad." Sakura admitted. "But at least I've stuck to it all these years. _You_ just flirt with any random guy and give up on him the instant it doesn't look like things are going to be easy."

"Ouch! OK you got me." Ino faked an injury. "All I'm saying is if you don't want everything to seem like the same old routine try mixing things up a bit, starting with giving up on Sasuke."

Sakura looked down at her desk. "I know I should, but I just can't. I like him too much, even if he doesn't like me back. I- I just can't change that."

"Suit yourself." Ino shrugged. "Enjoy being lonely for the rest of your life!" She giggled again. "I'm kidding. If that's what you really want I'll support you, I just worry about you. You're my best friend after all. Anyway class is about to start, I'd better get back to my seat. See you!"

Sakura watched as Ino walked away from her. "I envy her." She muttered under her breath. "If only I could be as flexible, and interesting, and outgoing. Maybe then, Sasuke-kun would…" She stopped talking, and remained silent as her teacher entered the classroom.

"Yo!" The teacher raised a hand in greeting. He was a tall man with spiky grey hair, his fringe covering his left eye. He wore a white shirt with a black tie and smart black trousers held up using suspender braces. The bottom half of his face was covered by a surgical mask, but you could tell that behind it he was smiling. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning Kakashi-sensei." The students greeted, before standing and bowing to their teacher.

"Oh and before anyone asks, I have a cold." Kakashi pointed to his surgical mask. "That's why I'm wearing this, just try to ignore it."

"I get the feeling he likes wearing those masks…" A boy with brown hair tied in a spiky ponytail said. "He's always wearing stuff like that, it's like he doesn't want his face to be seen,"

"What?" Ino turned to the boy. "That's just stupid Shikamaru. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!"

"Whatever." He grunted. "Next time I'll keep my stupid ideas to myself…"

Soon everyone in the class was murmuring. "Alright, settle down." Kakashi said gently but confidently, and the students soon complied. "OK, I've got some exciting news today."

Sakura, who had previously been ignoring her teacher and staring out a nearby window gloomily, suddenly perked up at the idea of excitement. "Exciting news?" She said inquisitively.

"That's right." Kakashi nodded. "We have a new student joining us today."

The class began murmuring once again. Sakura was suddenly thrilled, and she couldn't understand why. "Is my life so boring that the idea of a new student excites me so much?" She whispered to herself. Sakura thought about this for a few minutes. "Yes" She hung her head. "What am I doing?" She asked herself. "I have no reason to be depressed now! Finally something exciting is happening! This new student could be a friend to help me break out of my boring routine, or a boy to help me move on from Sasuke-kun!" She imagined herself in the arms of her dream boy, with Ino looking on jealously. _"This is it!"_ Sakura thought excitedly as a foot stepped into the classroom. _"A new chapter of my life begins now!" _

"Everyone welcome our newest student" Kakashi signalled to the person who had just entered, a fairly tall boy with spiky blond hair, deep blue eyes and whisker like scars on his face. He dropped the small bag he was carrying to the floor and picked up a piece of chalk from Kakashi's desk, then began scrawling hiragana (4) across the board, with students mumbling behind him. As he reached the edge of the board, the boy slammed down the chalk he was holding, spun around and looked out over his new classmates with his arms crossed confidently. The board read "UZUMAKI NARUTO". "Don't forget it." He grinned.

* * *

Everyone was in shock over Uzumaki Naruto's entrance, including Kakashi. _"Quite a showy introduction." _He thought to himself. _"This could go down in one of two ways. One, he's instantly accepted as being cool. Or two…"_

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" "Show-off!" "Poser!" "Sit down!" There was a sudden outburst from the students.

"…_that happens…"_

"Huh? N-no, hold on a second!" Naruto began waving his arms around, trying to control the mob that was once his classmates. "I was trying to make a good example this time!" Naruto desperately tried to explain himself whilst being booed by his fellow students.

"Alright, that's enough" Kakashi said sternly, the class instantly stopped. "I do hope you'll try and be a bit more modest in the future, Naruto-kun"

"Y-yes, sensei." Naruto said nervously.

"Good!" Kakashi smiled happily under his mask. "Now, take a seat."

Naruto lifted up his bag and dragged himself over to an empty seat by a window, trying to avoid the angry glares of his peers. He slumped down into his seat, and Sakura turned around to face him, staring at him with her emerald coloured eyes. _"Sh-she's so pretty…" _Naruto's heart began beating faster. _"And she's looking at me. I should say something," _But as Naruto opened his mouth to speak, the pink haired girl turned her nose up at him and spun around. Naruto found himself completely rejected, staring at the back of her bright pink head with his mouth agape in shock. He allowed himself to flop forwards, his head slamming onto his desk. "Every damn time" He whispered, barely letting his sadness escape. "I just wanted them to _like_ me…"

* * *

A rather tubby boy sat on a bench, munching away at a bag of barbeque potato chips. He had spiky brown hair that hung backwards, away from his head, and a chubby face with two rosy red cheeks. He had light blue, hoop earrings and wore the same school uniform as most of his male classmates; a white shirt with black trousers. "So, what do you think of the new guy?" He asked between mouthfuls of food. 

"He's a complete show-off." Ino answered almost instantly, as if she had been waiting for someone to ask her that question. "Just begging for attention; look at him, all on his own over there." She pointed to Naruto, who was leaning against a wall alone. "Serves him right for trying to act more important than everyone else!"

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on the guy?" Shikamaru questioned, lying somewhat comfortably on a bench. "Maybe he was trying to get people to like him and it backfired. Although I have to admit, I don't usually like the generic 'tough guy', a stereotype his attitude seems to suggest fits him quite well."

"Oh who asked you?" Ino snapped at Shikamaru. "You're probably just saying that for the sake of disagreeing with me. You agree with me right Choji?"

"I dunno." Choji crammed several more potato chips into his mouth. "I know how it feels to want others to like you. I think I'm with Shikamaru on this one."

"Ugh all you boys stick up for each other, even when you don't like each other!" Ino said angrily. "At least Sakura agrees with me. Right Sakura?" Sakura was staring intensely at Naruto. "Sakura? Hello?" Ino waved her hand in front of Sakura's face.

"Huh?" Sakura swivelled round. "Oh yeah, you're right. He's an insensitive attention hog." As Ino began to gloat to Shikamaru and Choji about how Sakura agreed with her, Sakura stared angrily at Naruto. _"I thought someone was going to help turn my life around," _She clenched her fists. _"And I get stuck with you!" _She broke off her stare to look directly at the ground, shaking with frustration. Then, Sakura said very quietly. "I hate you"

At that moment, Naruto stared up at the sky, he felt the cool wind on his face, and rubbed his left cheek, running his fingers along his whisker scars. "All alone." He said, letting the words loose into the wind. "I guess… some things just never change…"

**A/N: **And that be chapter 1. Hope you found it informative and fun. Please review as criticism is what makes me learn, and we all know learning is good. Farewell for now.

Notes:

(1) Kyokuchou is a suffix meaning "Police chief/inspector"

(2)-Sailor fuku is a common style of uniform worn by female middle school and high school students in Japan, the uniform generally consists of a blouse attached with a sailor-style collar and a pleated skirt. It is the female uniform at Konoha high.

(3)-The gakuran are the common uniforms for many male middle school and high school students in Japan, generally consisting of a black, buttoned up jacket and black trousers/pants. Naruto wears the jacket part of the general gakuran.

(4)-Hiragana is a number of characters that make up the Japanese writing system, alongside kanji and katakana. It is used for Japanese words that have no kanji, or where the kanji are difficult to read, or where you do not know the kanji, or where you know the kanji but you think your reader is unlikely to know them. Naruto writes in hiragana.


	2. Motouzu's Wild fox

**A/N: **This is not months late. I swear. You're imagining it. However, it is true to say that I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, that all belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei; no matter how much I may wish that was just your imagination too.

**Chapter 2: Motouzu's Wild fox**

The warm rays of the morning sun slowly crept over Naruto's face, and the blond gradually opened his eyes. He sat up, yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. "Damn sun." He grumbled and hauled himself from his bed, stumbling over to a small kitchen alcove. Naruto prepared himself some instant ramen for breakfast and plopped down on a small chair at a very messy table. As Naruto shovelled the contents of the ramen cup into his mouth, he thought about the events of the previous day. He recalled how everyone had booed him when he introduced himself, when he had been left all alone at lunch, and when that girl had turned her nose up in him. They all hated him. They always hated him. A knock came at the door, rousing Naruto from his reminiscing. He walked over to the door and opened it up to reveal. "Iruka-san!" Naruto greeted him happily.

"Good morning!" Iruka said kindly, Naruto gestured towards the inside of the house, and Iruka removed his shoes and entered. "So, how was your first day at school?" He asked as they both sat down at the messy table.

"Um, not so good…" Naruto mumbled, trying to avoid Iruka's gaze. He had known Iruka since he was very young, and knew that if you found yourself staring directly into his eyes; you'd be willing to tell him anything. It wasn't that Iruka was manipulative, he was just so kind and inviting, it was difficult to hide anything from him.

"Same as usual huh?" Iruka asked gently. "I know it's awkward for you to have to move school again, but what with my boss moving me here I couldn't really help it; I had to make sure you have someone to look after you. I'm sorry Naruto."

"Nah, it's OK." Naruto assured him. "I didn't really like the reputation I'd picked up in my last school anyway…" And then, without even realising it, Naruto noticed his eyes had wandered and he was now staring directly at Iruka; and once again, he felt like telling him everything. "It's just, this time I wanted to make a good example," He revealed. "But I screwed up again; everyone hates me, as usual." Naruto slumped over the table. "I guess I was never really meant to have friends."

"Now don't say that." Iruka said with a concerned frown. "Everyone deserves friends, you especially. You lost your parents at a very young age, and I know that's hard for you; but you have to learn to trust other people Naruto." He put a warm and reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You don't have to try and intimidate other people into liking you; you have to learn to let people like you for who you are. Those people are the real friends."

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "I guess so…" He got up and walked over to the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat Iruka-san?"

"No thanks, I'd better be going." Iruka stood up and made his way to the door. As he opened it, he turned back to Naruto. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

Naruto smiled widely at him. "Don't worry, I'm alright!"

"Good." Iruka smiled back, and left, leaving Naruto standing alone; facing a closed door.

Naruto looked down at his hand, as his last words echoed in his mind. _"Don't worry, I'm alright_!" He clenched his fist tightly. "Liar…"

"What!? You're serious!?" Ino cried in shock.

"Yup!" Sakura nodded happily. "I'm serious."

"Whoa, I can't believe it…" Ino placed her hand on a nearby desk, acting as if she needed it to maintain her balance. "I can't believe you're really going to tell him. After all this time, you're really going to confess to Sasuke!"

"Oh come on, it can't be that surprising." Sakura said.

"It's just so sudden is all." Ino pointed out. "What made you decide to do it anyway?"

"I don't know," Sakura shrugged. "It just felt like the time was right." But she was lying. She knew she was. Sakura knew that she was only going to confess to Sasuke to try and instill some excitement in her dreary and boring life. After yesterday's disappointment, she felt worse than ever before; and wanted more than anything to make herself feel better.

"But how do you know he's going to say yes?" Ino inquired.

"I don't." Sakura admitted. "I just need to get it out in the open, that's all."

"Well, at least you're finally taking the initiative." Ino noted. "I'm proud of you Sakura! Whether Sasuke likes you or not, at least this will finally bring an end to the whole thing."

Naruto walked in and took his place behind Sakura; the two girls completely ignored him. _"OK Naruto, you know what Iruka-san said; you have to get them to like you for you! Try being nice to them, that'll work!" _Naruto nodded to himself and waved to the two girls. "Morning!" He said cheerfully, neither paid him any heed, and they continued their conversation; Naruto slammed his head on the table. _"N-No way…"_

At lunch, Naruto spied Sakura again. She was on her own this time, and Naruto slowly approached her; thinking deeply in preparation. _"OK, OK, apologise for yesterday and try and make conversation" _He decided. _"You can do this!"_

Naruto went to talk to Sakura, when she spun around and bumped straight into him. Sakura hopped backwards and rubbed her nose in pain. "Ow! Watch where you're going!" She snapped.

"S-sorry!" Naruto apologised. _"Sh-She's so cute…" _He thought to himself as he stared admiringly at her.

"Look, what do you want?" Sakura asked, turning her face away from Naruto.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Naruto said. "I know I was a bit of a show-off yesterday, and you looked pretty offended by it. I just wanted to let you know I didn't mean any harm, I was just trying to make a good impression."

"Hmph, you call that a good impression?" Sakura hissed. "A stupid fake apology isn't going to get me to like you. You're rude and insensitive, and I don't like people like that."

Naruto began to quake in fear. "Uh I know that was the impression I gave, but that's really not the kind of person I am!" He assured her. "Y-you see, I'm used to getting respect through intimidation. I was just…" Naruto paused momentarily before continuing. "I was just trying to get people to like me…"

Sakura laughed, which shocked Naruto. "You think you can trick me with your little sad act?" She growled. "I don't believe a word of that crap! Just because people didn't get scared of you and think you're cool, you're trying to earn my pity? How dare you!"

"H-hey, I'm trying to apologise here!" Naruto spoke up. "I'm just trying to be a nice guy!"

"I don't care!" Sakura shouted. "Do whatever you want, just leave me out of it! I don't want anything to do with you!" She turned on her heel and went to walk away.

"No wait!" Naruto cried. "Please, hold on a second!" He grabbed hold of Sakura's arm, and she slapped him hard in the face.

"Don't you dare touch me." Sakura said as she tried to stifle tears. "I was hoping for…" She broke off and started again. "What gives you the right to approach me like this? I don't even know you." She stared angrily at Naruto, her teeth bared and her eyes watering. "I _**hate**_you!"

Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock, and he was left speechless. Slowly, he released his grip on Sakura and she stormed off. A group had been watching the confrontation, and it quickly dispersed. Naruto crouched down, clasping his head firmly and choking on held-back tears. "Dammit!" He shouted angrily. "Why? Why do they always hate me!?"

"Because." A voice came from behind Naruto, and he spun around to see a boy in a Konoha High school uniform with a blank, expressionless face and spiky jet black hair staring back at him; sitting on a wall with his arm resting on his knee, his leg pulled in towards his stomach and his back resting against a wired gate. "You are different."

Naruto sat, slumped over his desk; the words that boy had said repeating over and over again in his head. It was as if he could tell exactly how Naruto was feeling, he understood him completely; more than anyone ever had. Naruto turned his head to the window and gazed outside at the light clouds crawling by. A raven slowly descended from the bright blue sky, perching on the windowsill in front of Naruto. It ruffled its wings gently, and Naruto fixed his gaze upon it; where it remained for some time, and when the bird returned his gaze, he felt as if its beady black eyes were boring into his very soul. Eventually, the raven took flight once more, and a single, jet black feather delicately floated down; cradled by the soft wind until it took its place on the window sill. Naruto turned his attention to the feather, fascinated. _"That guy," _He thought to himself. _"Who… What was he?"_

Finally, the school bell rung loudly; juxtaposing Naruto from daydream to reality and ending the school day. Naruto hoisted his bag up over his shoulder, and shuffled out of the classroom; desperately trying to avoid the burning eyes of his fellow students. As Naruto exited the school, he spied a spiky mound of dark, black hair and instantly recognised it. "Th-that guy!" He cried out loud, drawing some attention; but disregarding it. Naruto swam through the crowd of students, towards the mysterious boy; but halted after a few moments. _"Wait… Last time…" _Naruto recalled what had happened only a few hours before.

"_I'm… Different?" Naruto said with a blank expression on his face, he scratched his head and confusion quickly turned to irritation. "Just what the hell do you mean by that!?"_

"_Relax." The boy replied calmly. "I'm not trying to insult you. If anything, that was a compliment just now." He swung his legs over the side of the wall, clutched the side with his hands and pushed himself off; flying gracefully through the air before landing with equally graceful ease, just in front of Naruto._

_Naruto stepped back slightly, surprised and somewhat intimidated. "Who are you?" He asked cautiously._

"_No-one really." The boy responded. "At least, not yet anyway."_

_Naruto scrunched his face up perplexedly. "I don't get you at all; I can't understand a thing you're saying."_

_The boy's composure didn't change at all, yet somehow it seemed as if he had chuckled at Naruto's statement. "Well, that doesn't really surprise me."_

_Naruto took a large step forward and grasped tightly at the boy's collar. "I'm getting sick of you saying stuff like that." He snarled; the boy remained perfectly cool and collected, and Naruto pushed him away irritably, annoyed that he had failed to intimidate the boy at all. The blonde stuffed his hands into his pockets and stormed off angrily. "You'll leave me alone if you know what's good for you, I'm in a bad mood."_

"_Why? Because of that girl?" The boy called out._

_Naruto stopped suddenly. He slowly brought his hand up to his burning cheek, tenderly nursing the area where he had been slapped by Sakura. "What do you know about me?" He said very faintly, but the boy still seemed to hear._

_  
"Not much." The boy answered. "But enough." He turned and walked away, whilst Naruto stood silently. "Never forget you are different."_

_Naruto continued to stand in place for several seconds, until a cool, wet sensation ran over his hand. He looked down to see the tears that had rolled over his hand, and quickly shoved it back into his pocket, then wiped his eyes vigorously with his sleeve. With that, Naruto walked back to class._

"_That guy… He really is weird." _Naruto recalled, still staring at the boy's dark, black hair. _"Should I really want to talk to him again?" _As the boy got further and further away, becoming lost in the crowd of students; Naruto pulled himself from the sight, and walked away. As he walked, Naruto's shoulder collided with that of another student, and he stumbled forward; losing his balance and tumbling to the floor, face-first. Students around him began to laugh uncontrollably, and as a furious Naruto lifted himself from the hard ground, he balled his palm up into a tight fist and prepared to punch the student behind him. But as Naruto swivelled round, he found an outstretched hand.

"Sorry about that." The bored, but distinctly concerned voice of Shikamaru said. "Wasn't looking where I was going, my fault." Naruto relaxed his hand and took the boy's hand in his own, allowing himself to be pulled up.

"I-it's OK." He stuttered slightly.

Some more students chuckled, and Shikamaru turned to the crowd behind him; glaring disapprovingly. "Alright, knock it off; nothing to see here." As the crowd dispersed, Shikamaru turned back to Naruto, and scratched his head embarrassingly. "Sorry again, you OK?" Naruto nodded, remaining completely silent. "The name's Shikamaru, Nara Shikamaru." He extended his hand again, and hesitantly; Naruto clutched it gently and shook Shikamaru's hand.

"I'm U…" He began, but Shikamaru interrupted.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I know; who could forget?"

Naruto shifted his feet awkwardly and stared at the ground. "S-sorry about that…"

"You don't need to be sorry." Shikamaru said, rubbing his neck tiresomely. "You didn't really do anything wrong, but that's not exactly the best way to make friends. Unless that was what you were going for, in which case you did a pretty good job."

Naruto chuckled nervously, but the laughter soon evolved into a deep sigh. "It's OK; I'm used to people not liking me." 

"_So, it's just as I thought." _Shikamaru said to himself, staring at the depressive looking Naruto. _"I feel sorry for this guy… I can't just leave him here. Man, this is pretty troublesome." _"Say, um… Naruto." Shikamaru said. "Do you like shogi (1)?"

"Huh? Shogi?" Naruto said, surprised. "Um… Not exactly, I'm not really very good at it."

_"W-well… That figures I suppose." _Shikamaru thought. "Well, how about video games?"

Naruto began to grin, and felt more comfortable. "Y-yeah, I love video games! I'm not the best at all those role playing ones… And in racing games I always crash my car; but I love fighting games!" Naruto suddenly broke off from his excited rant and looked up at Shikamaru cautiously. "Why, exactly do you want to know?"

"It's just that, well; normally my friend Choji and I go to my house after school to hang out and play video games and stuff, but he has a doctor's appointment today. So I was wondering; do you want to like, hang out at my house or something?" 

Naruto's jaw dropped, his mouth agape in awe. "L-lemme get this straight." He waved his hand in front of Shikamaru slightly. "You want _me_, to go _your _house, and hang it with _you_; both of us, together, doing things, at the same time?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Shikamaru confirmed.

Naruto spun around and drew his arms up into his chest, twisting excitedly with seemingly sparkling tears of joy streaming from his wide, happy eyes. _"Iruka-san, truly you were right! I finally have a friend, and I didn't even need to do anything! Being yourself is a lot easier than I thought." _He thought to himself joyfully.

"So um, you interested?" Shikamaru asked again, somewhat worried by Naruto's performance.

Naruto rubbed his eyes dry and composed himself before swirling back to face Shikamaru, beaming with his almost fang-like teeth showing clearly. "You bet! Let's go!" He grinned.

"OK, cool." Shikamaru beckoned Naruto to follow, and walked out of school; with a gleeful Naruto skipping merrily behind him. _"Something tells me this wasn't such a good idea…" _

"Oh-oh! And you know what we could do? We could play through allllllll of Street Fighter II together! It's like really hard but I know how to do Zangief's piledriver move so it's totally cool. Hey, hey Shikamaru; did you know that if you finish SF II as Zangief, you get to see a little scene of him dancing with…" Naruto rambled on constantly.

"_Sweet, merciful, God. Does this guy never shut up?" _Shikamaru shook with anger and annoyance; as he opened his mouth to say something he may have later regretted to Naruto, the boy heard a screech and the topic flew from his mind. "Did you hear that?" He questioned.

"Huh, what?" Naruto counter questioned.

"That screaming sound." Shikamaru said. "You're telling me you didn't hear it?"

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto pointed at a gathering of people, completely ignoring Shikamaru. The blonde raced ahead.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Shikamaru called after him. "Damn it this guy's been nothing but a nuisance!"

The two barged their way into the crowd, and saw Sakura struggling against a large, bulky boy wearing a Konoha high uniform complete with gakuran. His greasy black hair had been creased into a puffy shape with copious amounts of thick hair gel, and his tattered moustache hung loosely to his oversized lip; while two huge, bushy eyebrows clung tightly to their position. The boy held a wooden sword over his shoulder, and was gripping Sakura's wrist tightly, whilst she tried her best to escape; her books already spilled across the floor and her satchel imprinted with a large footprint. "Let me go!" She cried, pushing against the boy's arm.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Not a chance, Sakura-chan!" The boy laughed, with the two cronies that stood behind him joining in. "Forget that poser Sasuke, you're gonna be my girlfriend!" Sakura bit the boy's hand, and he yelped in pain; pulling his wounded hand away from Sakura, who shovelled her books into her bag quickly and dashed forward, only to fall to the ground and land hardly on her knee. "Che." The boy rubbed his throbbing hand against his side and gripped his sword tightly. "You're gonna pay for that…"

"OI!" A loud and familiar voice spread across the scene, attracting everyone's attention. Naruto stepped into the space which had been circled by students. "Leave her alone."

"Naruto you idiot, get back here!" Shikamaru half-whispered, half-shouted. "You don't know who you're messing with!"

The large boy's stomach bounced as he chuckled. "You should listen to your pal, runt." He advised. "I haven't seen you around before, but around these parts, I'm the boss. Shinta Kawamaru."

Naruto took a few steps forward, blocking Sakura off from Kawamaru. "Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced himself.

Kawamaru exploded with laughter. "So you're that kid!" He said between laughs. "The idiot who got brushed off on his first day!" He pointed a pudgy finger at a seething Naruto. "You're a joke!"

Naruto stared back with furious, fiery eyes. "You're starting to piss me off." He stated. "I don't suggest you do that. Ever."

Kawamaru looked Naruto up and down, unconvinced and laughed slightly. "Why the hell not?" 

"Just leave this girl alone." Naruto snapped back.

Kawamaru swung his sword forward, pointing it at Naruto; the tip only inches away from the blonde's face. "Or what? You gonna make me, whiskers?" This generated some laughs from the 'audience'.

"You, Sakura-chan was it?" Naruto said, without even turning to face Sakura. "I suggest you get out of here. This 'aint gonna be pretty." 

Begrudgingly, Sakura nodded and began to run away, before she left she said coldly. "This changes nothing." Naruto did not respond, and Sakura dissolved into the crowd.

Kawamaru laughed again. "Getting the cold shoulder even from the girl you're trying to save? You really are a freaking joke kid!" Again, Naruto did not respond. Kawamaru walked towards Naruto. "Hey, what's with the silence, whiskers?" Naruto said nothing. "Answer me…" Naruto said nothing; Kawamura shoved his large, fat face into Naruto's and yelled. "ANSWER ME!" Splattering saliva over Naruto's scarred face. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM KID!?"

Naruto clenched his fist. "You." He punched Kawamaru fiercely in the stomach, and the behemoth gasped for breath; his eyes rolled back into his head, his sword bounced on the floor several times before coming to a stop and he dropped to the floor with a deafening thud; like a wounded bear.

"H-Hey… What the hell was that!?" One of Kawamaru's cronies gulped. "The boss, the boss just got floored! And with one punch!"

Naruto flicked his hand lightly and formed another fist, walking slowly forward. "What… Is this kid!?" The other crony screamed, before being sent to the ground by Naruto with a single punch, his body twisting unnaturally as he spun through the air and came to a rest on the ground below.

"You bastard!" The other crony shouted, and launched a punch at Naruto; who caught the attack easily, and sent the attacker careening backwards with a strong uppercut.

Naruto clicked his knuckles and dusted himself off. "Sorry Shikamaru." He said as he walked off towards the slowly setting sun. "I think I'm gonna go home."

Shikamaru stared, speechless; Ino was comforting a sobbing and restless Sakura, the young boy crouched down and asked his friend. "Are you alright?" Sakura bit her lip and nodded.

"Wow… He's everything they say he is." A gruff, excited voice said in amazement. "It's scary that he's at our school now."

"What are you talking about, Kiba?" Shikamaru inquired, raising up to level himself with his friend; an average sized boy with messy brown hair and red, triangle-like shapes painted on his face like tribal war tattoos.

"Huh, you mean you don't know?" Kiba asked back, Shikamaru shook his head. "That kid, that Naruto kid; he used to go to Motouzu High."

"That infamous school with all the gangs?" Shikamaru asked, finding it difficult to link the excitable, annoying Naruto with such a place.

"That's the one." Kiba nodded. "That place is nothing but trouble, and it's full of strong, violent bastards. But out of all of 'em, there was one that had control; one that dominated, through intimidation alone, like a cunning, wild animal."

"You, you can't mean…" Shikamaru looked towards his blonde haired classmate as he said this.

"Yep." Kiba replied quickly. "Uzumaki Naruto. They call him, 'Motouzu's Wild fox'."

Naruto walked onward, his gakuran billowing in the wind. "Man, today was another one of those days."

A/N: Aaaaaand done. Sorry for being so late . As usual, send all criticisms or nitpicks you may have; best way to earn experience if you ask me.

Notes: (1) Shogi is basically Japanese chess, it's Shikamaru's favourite game in the original Naruto manga; and pretty much the only thing he actually enjoys doing.


End file.
